Tuesday, 30 April 2013

Vegetable boat on spaghetti ocean

The vegetarian
diet has had a great demand in recent years and there are several social
–cultural factors that motivate this demand, such as religious ones,
philosophical, health, between others.

Today it is easy
to find vegetarian meals in many restaurants. However, if on one hand there is
a great curiosity about this regime, on the other, unhealthy eating habits,
high sugar foods and processed products increase exponentially.

A balanced diet,
especially for children, is crucial for a healthier growth and it highly reduces
the risk of contracting diabetes or obesity.

Processed
products should be replaced by fresh, natural products, such as fruits and
vegetables.

Introducing some
vegetarian meals in the diet of the young ones, can be enriching and fun,
especially if the basic nutricional concepts of a balanced vegetarian meal are
respected. That is, if meals are based on vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds,
grains and vegetable proteins.

Preparing a
child’s menu is a challenge, as far as, applying imagination to food is concern
and working with the pleasures of mouth as well.

My daughter has
been a vegetarian since she was born and has always loved to share with her
friends her beet or spinach bread, her edible flowers, her alfafa sprouts and
many other dishes that arise children’s curiosity.

I challenge you
to define a especially healthy and a 100% vegetable weekday meal!

This week’s
recipe is for the young ones!

Ingredients:

(serves 2)

1 zucchini

1 cup grated tofu

1 medium grated
carrot

2 garlic cloves

2 tbsp olive oil

salt to taste

1 tbsp soy sauce

full spaghetti

3 fresh mushrooms

1 small turnip

1 carrot for the
garnishing

1 parsley stalk
for the garnishing

Cut the zucchini in two halves to make two boats.

Dip the inside
and cut the polp in small pieces. Reserve.

Remove the skin
of the garlic and chop it.

Put the oil in a
pan, heat it and add the garlic. Mix until lightly brown and add the tofu. Mix
well for 3 minutes.

Add the carrot,
wrap and season it with salt.

Add the zucchini pieces and the soy sauce. Cook for another two minutes. Remove from heat, cover
and let it stand.

Cook the
spaghetti.

Meanwhile, clean
the mushrooms with a wet cloth and cut them into slices to make the fishes.

Make the mast of
the boat using a piece of the
carrot you reserved for garnishing and make the flag with a small skin portion
of the zucchini.

At the top of the
mast, make a small hole and do the same to the flag. Join them using the
parsley stalk.

Cut a slice of
the carrot to make the body of the Sun and small jilienne pieces to make the
rays.

Peel the turnip
and grate it to make a cloud.

To build the
boat, make a small whole in the middle of the zucchini, insert the mast and
fill the boat with the tofu and carrot preparation.

Organize the spaghetti
in front as the sea and place the mushrooms fishes on top.

Make a cloud with
a strand of spaghetti and fill the inside with the grated radish.